Andre-Villas Boas has told France Football he was disappointed after being sacked by Chelsea but understood the reasons behind Roman Abramovich's decision.

Having arrived from FC Porto with a burgeoning reputation, the now Tottenham boss endured a fraught eight-month reign at Stamford Bridge. After attempting to rejuvenate the Blues' ageing squad, which resulted in senior players turning against him, the Portuguese coach was relieved of his duties, barely two months before his replacement, Roberto Di Matteo, led the team to Champions League triumph in Munich.

"I watched it [Champions League final], but not right to the end. There were players in the dressing room that I liked a lot, and to whom I could only wish the best," Villas-Boas said. "It wasn't easy for me to leave. I congratulated certain people with whom I'd worked there, those who had given everything, who were my friends."

Despite also winning the FA Cup last season, Di Matteo was to soon suffer the same fate as his predecessor, losing his job after his own eight-month spell as a consequence of a stumbling Premier League season and almost certain group-stage elimination from the Champions League.

Though Villas-Boas admits his side's on-pitch performances were what finally undermined his own regime, he had hoped Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich would show more patience having paid Porto a reported €15 million to lure him to West London.

"I think that I could have been given the chance to continue. But I'm well aware that the change was the only way to have an impact in terms of results," he added. "When you're in that negative spiral, there are two sorts of reaction: either you stick to your project for the future and the people who are part of it, or you want immediate success. In that case, you have to change everything."

After enduring a tricky start to his Manchester United career, perhaps it is fair that Marcos Rojo celebrated so boisterously as he watched his first professional club Estudiantes beat fierce rivals Gimnasia